Kathleen Kouril Grieser: NVA unveils 'Pictures of Austin St.' survey

Thursday

Aug 21, 2014 at 6:00 PM

Kathleen Kouril Grieser

On May 23, Mayor Warren selected Austin Street Partners as the developers of Newtonville’s village parking lot, but rejected what they proposed to build. It seems curious to hire a developer before it is decided what will be built, or if anything will be built at all, but the Mayor alone knows his reasons. He has stated that there is "no proposal on the table" (May 25) and that the community is "starting from scratch" (June 24) with Austin Street.At City Hall-led "envisioning" sessions on June 24 and July 28, the Mayor’s economic development director, Nancy Hyde, reiterated there is no proposal. Since July 1, Ms. Hyde has released reports based on community input collected at the June 24 "dotmocracy" session, where participants voted with stickers for their "areas of interest," and listed on post-its "challenges" and "opportunities" within those areas of interest. Participants were most interested in parking, traffic, public amenities, streetscape and design. These areas accounted for 70 percent of sticker "votes." Of the only 17 percent of stickers indicating interest in the area of housing, 28 percent of associated comments were opposed to housing on the site, which translates to only 12 percent of stickers indicating positive interest in housing on the Austin Street lot.These June 24-based reports reveal that public opposition to development of the Austin Street lot has strengthened since the Newtonville Area Council surveyed the village in February. This may be, in part, because the Area Council’s survey presumed development would happen and had that bias built into survey questions. Now, with "no proposal on the table," the starting point for data collection may have less bias. The June 24 data show strongest interest in preserving parking, not adding traffic, and increasing green space, and strong resistance to high-density housing. Perhaps seniors and young professionals have figured out that ASP’s market rate units wouldn’t work financially, and they wouldn’t qualify for the subsidized affordable units. Others mention school over-crowding and Newton’s many 40B proposals as reasons they oppose a housing project on Newtonville’s parking lot.At the July 28 session, when, with no prior notice, residents were finally allowed to address Mayor Warren about Austin Street publicly, almost all speakers opposed development, and some pointed out development isn’t needed to re-vitalize an already re-vitalized Newtonville. Mayor Warren noted this vitality in his letter announcing the June relocation of the Veterans’ Service Center to "the heart of one of Newton’s thriving village centers" - in Newtonville. Thanks to village restaurants and businesses, and the Newton residents who park at Austin Street while supporting them, Newtonville is vibrant. The more Newtonville residents learn about who instigated, and who will profit from, the "surplusing," and far-below-market sale, of the village parking lot, the less convinced they are that this process now has anything to do with "re-vitalizing" Newtonville.Much has changed since a section (5:8-9), identifying village parking lots as targets for developers of high-density housing, was inserted into Newton’s 2007 Comprehensive Plan. Little noticed at the time, that section positioned the pro-developer lobby to cite the Comprehensive Plan as justification for the "surplusing" of publicly owned village parking lots. Yet across Newton, residents are saying that village center parking should stay in the village centers and not end up on residential streets, and that they want Newton’s village centers preserved and beautified, not urbanized and densified. The businesses that make Newton’s villages vibrant rely on village parking lots to survive. Some, understandably, are questioning why Mayor Warren and his planners would advance developers’ interests rather than protecting those of residents and village business owners.So how does Newtonville resolve the Austin Street question? The Area Council’s February survey found 82 percent of Newtonville rejected any structure higher than three stories, and 20 percent wanted no housing at all. The June 24 data show even more opposition to development, with participants questioning whether any structure is warranted. The July 28 public comments include repeated calls for preserving the parking lot and using any surplus capacity (34 spaces out of 159 at peak, according to the official parking study) for a small park or community space.Using these findings as parameters, the Newtonville Trust and the Newton Villages Alliance have co-sponsored a new survey to clarify how Newtonville envisions Austin Street, going forward, and Newtonville residents and business owners are encouraged to complete this photo-based questionnaire. Anyone from Newton, age 14 plus, may participate, but only Newtonville responses will be analyzed. It’s called the Pictures of Austin Street Survey, and can be found on the Newton Villages Alliance website at: www.newtonvillagesalliance.org/pictures-of-austin-street-surveyKathleen Kouril Grieser lives in vibrant Newtonville.